Systems and methods for executing electronic transactions and tokenizations with distributed settlement platform

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for executing a distributed electronic transaction by a processing system are disclosed. One method includes receiving, by the processing system, a first transaction request from a first merchant system. The first transaction request may include a first exchange request and/or a distributed settlement agreement. The processing system may generate one or more tokens based on the first exchange request. The processing system may store a transaction amount based on the first exchange request in an exchange database. The processing system may transmit the one or more tokens to the first merchant system. The processing system may transmit one or more tokens based on the payment request to one or more second merchant systems.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of electronictransactions and, more particularly, to systems and methods forexecuting electronic transactions with a distributed settlementplatform.

BACKGROUND

Merchants can perform e-commerce and electronic fund transactionsdomestically and internationally. Such transactions allow businesses andconsumers to conveniently transfer money and/or make purchases for itemsand/or services to and from different countries around the world. Insome business industries, however, a single e-commerce transactioninvolves multiple entities, channels and/or countries to complete thetransaction. For example, when a product or (a service) is purchasedfrom a merchant website, the money paid for the product may be requiredto go through multiple entities, channels, and/or countries to reach itsfinal destination. Thus, such e-commerce transaction often experienceslong duration, excess fees, and/or security risks in order to complete asingle transaction. The present disclosure is directed to addressingthese and other drawbacks to existing e-commerce and/or electronic fundtransaction systems and services.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting context of the disclosure. Unless otherwiseindicated herein, the materials described in this section are not priorart to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be priorart, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One embodiment provides a method for executing a distributed electronictransaction by a processing system, comprising: receiving, by theprocessing system, a first transaction request from a first merchantsystem, the transaction request including a first exchange requestand/or a distributed settlement agreement; generating, by the processingsystem, one or more tokens based on the first exchange request; storing,by the processing system, a transaction amount based on the firstexchange request in an exchange database; transmitting, by theprocessing system, the one or more tokens to the first merchant system;and transmitting, by the processing system, one or more tokens based onthe first transaction request to one or more second merchant systems.

One embodiment provides a system comprising: one or more computerreadable media storing instructions for executing a distributedelectronic transaction; and one or more processors configured to executethe instructions to perform operations comprising: receiving, by aprocessing system, a first transaction request from a first merchantsystem, the transaction request including a first exchange requestand/or a distributed settlement agreement; generating, by the processingsystem, one or more tokens based on the first exchange request; storing,by the processing system, a transaction amount based on the firstexchange request in an exchange database; transmitting, by theprocessing system, the one or more tokens to the first merchant system;and transmitting, by the processing system, one or more tokens based onthe first transaction request to one or more second merchant systems.

One embodiment provides a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions for executing a distributed electronic transaction,the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, causing theone or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving, by aprocessing system, a first transaction request from a first merchantsystem, the transaction request including a first exchange requestand/or a distributed settlement agreement; generating, by the processingsystem, one or more tokens based on the first exchange request; storing,by the processing system, a transaction amount based on the firstexchange request in an exchange database; transmitting, by theprocessing system, the one or more tokens to the first merchant system;and transmitting, by the processing system, one or more tokens based onthe first transaction request to one or more second merchant systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate several embodiments and togetherwith the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary electronic transactionsystem, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another exemplary electronictransaction system, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of yet another exemplary electronictransaction system, according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method of executing variouselectronic exchange transaction, according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of another exemplary method of executing anelectronic exchange transaction, according to one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of yet another exemplary method ofexecuting an electronic exchange transaction, according to one aspect ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system for executing the techniquesdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following embodiments describe systems and methods for facilitatingelectronic transactions. More particularly, the embodiments contemplatedin the present disclosure may enable merchants, customers, businesses,institutions, etc. to utilize a transaction processor that communicateswith a distributed settlement platform (or system) to facilitate variouselectronic transactions. Additionally or alternatively, the embodimentsof the present disclosure may enable merchants, customers, businesses,institutions, etc. to communicate directly with a distributed settlementplatform supported by one or more transaction processors to facilitatevarious electronic transactions. The transaction processor may beconfigured to execute electronic fund transfer and/or exchangetransactions, tokenization, and/or electronic transaction authorizationsby communicating with merchant systems and distributed settlementsystems.

As discussed above, in some business industries (e.g., airlineindustry), a single e-commerce transaction (e.g., a flight ticketpurchase) may require multiple entities, channels, and/or countries tocomplete the transaction. For example, when an airline ticket ispurchased from a merchant website in one country for flying to anothercountry, the money paid for the airline ticket may have to go throughmultiple entities (e.g., airlines, airports, vendors, etc.), channels(e.g., payment schemes), and/or countries to reach its finaldestination. In some cases, as the money travels through variousentities, channels, and/or countries, a significantly amount of time, aswell as various required fees (e.g., payment scheme fees, currencyexchange fees, etc.), may be expended. Further, due to the prolongedtransaction duration, elevated risk of fraud, security exposure, and/orpotential loss of funds may be occur.

To address the above-noted problems, the present disclosure describessystems and methods that expeditiously and securely execute electronictransactions between multiple entities. For example, a transactionprocessor including an exchange system, a transaction system, and atokenization system of the present disclosure may communicate with adistributed settlement system to execute electronic fund transfer and/ortoken exchange transactions. In one embodiment, the transactionprocessor may receive, via a distributed settlement system, an exchangerequest from a merchant system to exchange a currency into one or moretokens. The transaction processor may then generate, via thetokenization system, one or more tokens based on the exchange request.In one embodiment, the exchange system may store the transaction amountassociated with the exchange request in an exchange database. Theexchange system may then transmit or issue, via the distributedsettlement system, the one or more tokens to the merchant system. Themerchant system may then utilize the received tokens to make payments ortransfer funds to other entities (e.g., merchant systems). In oneembodiment, any and all transactions performed between the merchantsystem and the transaction processor may be recorded or stored in thedistributed settlement system. The distributed settlement system maycomprise a public blockchain, a private blockchain, or a point-to-pointdistributed (or shared) ledger.

It should be appreciated that particular consideration is made herein topurchase transactions relating to merchants or sub-merchants. Despitethis reference to purchase and exchange transactions relating tomerchants, certain disclosed systems and methods may apply equally wellto various other e-commerce transactions. Effectively, any circumstancewhere credit, currency, crypto currency, collateralized funds, smartcontracts, and/or tokenized funds thereto, is being transmitted over anetwork, systems and methods disclosed herein may be employed. Further,while the party seeking to initiate a secure transaction and/or providea third-party service may be referred to herein as a “merchant,” a partyseeking to initiate a secure transaction need not be a merchant, but maybe a service provider, or any party seeking to execute a transaction.

The subject matter of the present disclosure will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, whichform a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specificexemplary embodiments. An embodiment or implementation described hereinas “exemplary” is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous, forexample, over other embodiments or implementations; rather, it isintended to reflect or indicate that the embodiment(s) is/are “example”embodiment(s). Subject matter may be embodied in a variety of differentforms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended tobe construed as not being limited to any exemplary embodiments set forthherein; exemplary embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative.Likewise, a reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matteris intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may beembodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly,embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof. The following detailed descriptionis, therefore, not intended to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” asused herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and thephrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily referto a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimedsubject matter include combinations of exemplary embodiments in whole orin part.

The terminology used below may be interpreted in its broadest reasonablemanner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detaileddescription of certain specific examples of the present disclosure.Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, anyterminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will beovertly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Descriptionsection.

Referring now to the appended drawings, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplarysystem 100 including a merchant system(s) 110 and a transactionprocessor 130, which is in communication with a transaction network(s)140. In one embodiment, the transaction processor 130 may include adistributed settlement system(s) 120, an exchange system(s) 132, atransaction system(s) 134, and a tokenization system(s) 136. Themerchant (or sub-merchant) system(s) 110 may include one more merchantsystems that may transmit, for example, a request to: 1) exchangecurrency funds (e.g., fiat currency or any other form of currency) intoone or more tokens (e.g., tokenized funds); 2) exchange funds from onecurrency (e.g., U.S. dollar (USD), European Euro (EUR), Korean Won(KRW), Singapore Dollar (SGD), etc.) to another currency; 3) makepayments or transfer funds to other merchant systems with currency fundsand/or tokens currency; and/or 4) bankout funds and/or tokens associatedwith one or more accounts of the merchant system(s) 110. In oneembodiment, the merchant system(s) 110 may communicate with thedistributed settlement system(s) 120 to facilitate the electronictransactions of the present disclosure. The distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 may record or store electronic transaction information (orhistory) and/or one or more agreements (e.g., settlement agreement,purchase agreement, service agreement, etc.) between multiple parties(e.g., merchant system(s) 110, etc.). In some embodiments, the merchantsystem(s) 110 may communicate directly with the transaction processor130 to facilitate the electronic transactions of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may includea distributed (or shared) ledger 122, which may comprise a securepublic, semi-public, or private ledger. In one embodiment, thedistributed ledger 122 may comprise a point-to-point distributed (orshared) ledger for storing information about one or more electronictransactions between the merchants that may be affiliated with thetransaction processor 130. In the distributed shared ledger 122information about a sequence of transactions may be stored in a public,semi-public, private, or point-to-point database, or “chain,” oftransactions. Each transaction may be represented in a “block” ofinformation that includes information about a transaction. For financialtransactions, such as for bitcoin cryptocurrency, collateralized funds,or tokenized funds, this information may include the parties to thetransaction and the transaction amount. However, other interactions(e.g., smart contracts) may also be represented as transactions in thedistributed ledger 122. For example, in one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure, information about merchant system(s) 110,transaction processor 130, onboarding decisions and third party checks,etc., may be represented as a “transaction” in the distributed ledger122.

One feature of a distributed (or shared) ledger is that the transactionsmay be verified and then stored in a block that is given a timestamp anda unique identifier or “hash.” The combination of the verification andthe unique hash for a block ensures that falsified transactions cannotbe entered into the distributed ledger, and the recorded transactionsare immutable. That is, a transaction, once recorded, cannot be deletedor altered without detection. The sequence of transactions, likewise,cannot be altered without detection.

A distributed (or shared) ledger may be distributed in a peer-to-peernetwork, such that identical copies of the distributed ledger are storedon the computing resources of multiple peers in the network. Thus, anyattempt to alter a block on one peer may be easily detected bycomparison with unaltered copies of the shared ledger on other peers. Insome embodiments, computing resources and electronic storage present inthe merchant system(s) 110, the distributed settlement system(s) 120,and the transaction processor 130, etc., may operate as peers in thepeer-to-peer network supporting a distributed) ledger, with each peerpossibly storing a separate copy of the distributed ledger.

Verification of a transaction may be by a “proof of work” scheme or a“proof of stake” scheme. In a “proof of work” scheme, verificationrequires performing an expensive computer calculation, such that thecost of verification is greater than a malicious party would want expendto create a falsified transaction, thus ensuring that verification canbe trusted. In a “proof of stake” scheme, a verifier submits financial(or other) resources that would be forfeited in the event of a falsifiedtransaction. The financial stake is greater than what a malicious partywould want to risk in order to create a falsified transaction, thusensuring that verification can be trusted. Verification may be providedby peers distributed across the network, thus eliminating a single pointof failure or attack. In one embodiment, when the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 detects a falsified transaction, the distributedsettlement system(s) 120 may disable the party involved in the falsifiedtransaction from creating new contracts or transferring and/or receivingfunds. The distributed settlement system(s) 120 may also suspend theparty's account to prevent any bankouts, revoke any certificates, and/orshutdown the account.

In one embodiment, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may utilizea validity and uniqueness consensus service provided by a partnerblockchain or distributed ledger company (e.g., R3) in order todetermine whether transactions are contractually valid and uniqueamongst parties involved in the transaction. For example, the chain ofpayments may be verified when tokens are redeemed with the exchangesystem(s) 132. Further, when a fraudulent activity is identified, thetransaction processor 130 may: 1) revoke the party's certificate whichis used to sign transactions, which would make the party's node readonly; and/or 2) revoke the party's Billing State, which is a stateissued by the exchange system(s) 132 and used to track and meter whatpayments and contracts are created by a party. Without thisfunctionality the parties will be able to receive funds and contractsbut not make any new ones. Additionally, for guaranteeing uniqueness, anotary node may be supplied by a ledger provider which checks the hashesof states to ensure the transactions have not been made before.

Blockchains, in general, may be public, in which any entity with thenecessary credentials may join the blockchain and view and sendtransaction, or they may be private, in which all participants are knownto each other and access to transactions is tightly controlled. Thedistributed ledger 122 may use either of these approaches. Preferably,in one embodiment, a point-to-point distributed (or shared) ledgerapproach may be used. In a point-to-point distributed (or shared)ledger, participation in the distributed (or shared) ledger iscontrolled, transactions between participants may remain anonymous toother participants, and access to transactions may be controlled bypermissions. In addition, the other participants not involved may notreceive the transactions at all. Thus, a point-to-point distributed (orshared) ledger may combine the best capabilities of public and privateblockchains and may make it easier for organizations to adoptdistributed (or shared) ledger in applications, such as paymentprocessing, which may be very sensitive to exposure of data in a publicledger. In addition, point-to-point distributed (or shared) ledger mayprovide advantages in processing speed and data security.

In addition to information stored in the distributed ledger 122,information about the merchant system(s) 110, the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120, and the transaction processor 130, and a hierarchicalrelationship between them, may be stored in a partner database outsideof the distributed ledger 122. The partner database may be a relationaldatabase, such as a Structured Query Language (SQL) database, or may bea non-relational database, such as a Non SQL (NoSQL) database. Use ofsuch a database external to the distributed ledger 122 may allow editingor updating the partner hierarchy, such as when the merchant system(s)110 are added or removed. In some embodiments, the database external todistributed ledger 122 may be provided in a cloud network 150. Further,a partner blockchain companies (e.g., R3) may assist in overseeing smartcontract transactions in the distributed ledger 122.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the transaction processor 130 may comprisethe distributed settlement system(s) 120, the exchange system(s) 132,the transaction system(s) 134, and the tokenization system(s) 136.Further, the transaction processor 130 may include a plurality of othersystems, including a server for receiving and storing the dataassociated with transactions. In one embodiment, the transactionprocessor 130 may communicate with the distributed settlement system(s)120, the exchange system(s) 132, the transaction system(s) 134, and thetokenization system(s) 136, to execute the electronic transactions ofthe present disclosure. For example, the transaction processor 130 mayreceive electronic transaction requests from the merchant system(s) 110,via the distributed settlement system(s) 120, to facilitate, forexample, 1) exchange of currency funds (e.g., fiat currency or any otherform of currency) into one or more tokens (e.g., tokenized funds); 2)exchange of funds from one currency (e.g., U.S. dollar (USD), EuropeanEuro (EUR), Korean Won (KRW), Singapore Dollar (SGD), etc.) to anothercurrency; 3) payments or transfer of funds to other merchant systemswith currency funds and/or tokens currency; and/or 4) bankout of fundsand/or tokens associated with one or more accounts of the merchantsystem(s) 110.

In one embodiment, when the merchant system(s) 110 transmits anauthorization request for completing an electronic fund transaction(e.g., payment requests, bankout currency funds or tokens, etc.), thetransaction processor 130 may act, via the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120, the exchange system(s) 132, the transaction system(s)134, and the tokenization system(s) 136, as an intermediary for themerchant system(s) 110. That is, the transaction processor 130 maytransmit the authorization request to the transaction network(s) 140 tocomplete the electronic fund transaction. The transaction processor 130may also receive an authorization response with a result of theauthorization request from the transaction network(s) 140, and maytransmit the authorization response to the merchant system(s) 110. Thetransaction network(s) 140 may include payment networks, issuer systems,and/or acquirer systems facilitate the authorization or approval ofvarious electronic transaction request (e.g., e-commerce transactions).In one embodiment, the exchange system(s) 132 may communicate with themerchant system(s) 110, via the distributed settlement system(s) 120, tofacilitate electronic fund transactions requested by the merchantsystem(s) 110. Further, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 maystore account information (e.g., electronic fund balance) associatedwith the merchant system(s) 110. The exchange system(s) 132 may alsocommunicate with the tokenization system(s) 136 to execute electronicfund transactions as requested by the merchant system(s) 110. In oneembodiment, the exchange system(s) 132 may transmit the electronic fundinformation (e.g., currency information, electronic funds, merchantpayment tokens, etc.) to the tokenization system(s) 136. Additionally oralternatively, the exchange system(s) 132 and the tokenization system(s)136 may be a single unitary system. The tokenization system(s) 136 maytokenize the electronic funds received from the transaction system(s)134 to generate tokenized funds. In some embodiments, the tokenizationsystem(s) 136 may generate tokenized funds and/or generate tokens forauthenticating and authorizing payment transactions requested by themerchant system(s) 110. A token may be a low-value token or a high-valuetoken. Further, a token may be a randomly generated number. In otherembodiments, a token may be a pseudorandom number, encryptedinformation, or other character sequence. The exchange system(s) 132 maysecurely return a transaction response to the merchant system(s) 110,along with the tokenized funds and/or tokens generated by thetokenization system(s) 136.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system 200 showing anexemplary transaction flow of the present disclosure. In one embodiment,the merchant system(s) 110 may include a plurality of Merchants orSub-merchants A-H that may communicate with each other in order tofacilitate electronic transactions of the present disclosure. MerchantsA-H may be participants of the distributed ledger 122. As describedabove, the distributed ledger 122 may be a public, semi-public, orprivate blockchain. Additionally or alternatively, a point-to-pointdistributed ledger (or shared) may be used instead of a blockchain. In apoint-to-point shared or distributed ledger, the participation in thedistributed ledger may be controlled. That is, the transactions betweenmerchants in communication with each other may remain anonymous to othermerchants, and access to transactions may be controlled by permissions.Thus, the distributed ledger 122 may make it easier for merchantsystem(s) 110 and the transaction processor 130 to adopt the distributedledger 122 in the electronic transaction of the present disclosure andmay provide advantages in processing speed and data security.

In one embodiment, at step 202, Merchant F may transmit a transactionrequest to Merchant C (e.g., make purchases, send funds, exchange fundsfor tokens, etc.), via the distributed ledger 122. Transactions betweenMerchants C and F may remain anonymous to other merchants (e.g.,Merchants A, B, D, E, H, and G). That is, only Merchants C and F may seeor have access to the transaction request. Thus, the transaction requestsent by Merchant F may support commercially sensitive transaction and noconsensus of other participants may be required, resulting in a fasterand efficient transaction. At step 204, the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 may receive the transaction request from Merchant F andstore or record the transaction request data in the distributed ledger122. At step 206, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may thenverify the account information associated with Merchants F and C andtransmit the transaction request to the exchange system(s) 132. In oneor more embodiments, the exchange system(s) 132 may check, for example,whether the balances of currency for the transaction request isaccurate, and may then update the account information associated withthe transaction request. Further, the exchange system(s) 132 maycommunicate with the tokenization system(s) 134 to create and/or destroytokens in accordance with the transaction request and may send them backto the merchant system(s) 110. At step 208, the exchange system(s) 132may transmit the transaction request to the transaction system(s) 134.The transaction system(s) 134 may then communicate, if necessary, withthe transaction network(s) 140 to complete the transaction request. Atstep 210, the transaction system(s) 134 may transmit a transactionconfirmation message to the exchange system(s) 132. In one embodiment,the exchange system(s) 132 may perform the functions of the transactionsystem(s) 134 of the present disclosure. That is, the exchange system(s)132 may communicate directly with the transaction network(s) 140 tocomplete the transaction request, for example, with external bankaccounts.

In one embodiment, the transaction request submitted by the merchantsystem(s) 110 may require tokenization of electronic funds. In thisexample, the exchange system(s) 132 may transmit a tokenization requestto the tokenization system(s) 136 at step 212. The tokenizationsystem(s) 136 may then generate tokenized funds and transmit thetokenized funds to the exchange system(s) 132 at step 214. In oneembodiment, the exchange system(s) 132 may update the accountinformation associated with the Merchants F and/or C in its database.The exchange system(s) 132 may then transmit the tokenized funds and/orthe transaction confirmation message to the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 at step 216. The distributed settlement system(s) 120 maystore or record all transaction data associated with the transactionrequest and transmit the tokenized funds and/or the transactionconfirmation message to the merchant system(s) 110 (e.g., Merchants Cand/or F) at step 218.

FIG. 3 block diagram of an exemplary system 300 showing an exemplaryarrangement of one or more components of the systems 100 and 200. Thesystem 300 includes the exchange system(s) 132, Merchant System A 304,and Merchant System B 310. The exchange system(s) 132, Merchant System A304, and Merchant System B 312 may be in communication with each other,directly or indirectly via the systems 100 and 200, to facilitate theelectronic transactions of the present disclosure. In one embodiment,the exchange system(s) 132 may comprise a database 302. The database 302may store, for example, account information associated with MerchantSystem A 304 and Merchant System B 310. Namely, the database 302 maycomprise escrow balance data 316 for one or more sets of merchantaccounts. In one embodiment, the exchange system(s) 132 may operatesimilarly to a bank. That is, the database 302 may store and maintainthe escrow balance data 316 associated with Merchant System A 304 andMerchant System B 310. The escrow balance data 316 may include availablebalance information of one or more currencies associated with theMerchant System A 304 and Merchant System B 310. For example, anycurrency exchanged for tokens by the Merchant System A 304 and/orMerchant System B 312 may be held in escrow in the exchange system(s)132. Further, the escrow balance data 316 may be updated based on thetransaction requests made by Merchant System A 304 and/or MerchantSystem B 312.

Still referring to FIG. 3 , Merchant System A 304 may comprise adatabase 306 that may maintain and store account balance data 308.Merchant System B 310 may also comprise a database 312 that may maintainand store account balance data 314. The account balance data 308 and 314may include currency balance information as well as tokenized fundbalance information. For example, when Merchant System A 304 exchanges acertain amount of Currency 1 (e.g., cash, fiat currency, etc.) intotokenized funds, the database 306 may update the account balance data308 by reducing the available amount of cash for Currency 1 and add theappropriate amount of Exchange Tokens for Currency 1. Merchant System B310 may also maintain and update the account balance data 314 similarlyto Merchant System A. Further, each participant (e.g., Merchant System A304 and Merchant System B 310) of a transaction in the exchangesystem(s) 132 may have at least one set of currency account to holdmoney which is not in tokens. That is, the exchange system(s) 132,Merchant System A 304, and Merchant System B 310 may synchronously orasynchronously monitor the transfer of funds within the systems 100,200, and/or 300. Thus, the merchants participating in the systems 100,200, and/or 300 may be able to avoid potential fees (e.g., scheme feesor currency exchange fees) by utilizing the distributed settlementsystem(s) 132 and the exchange system(s) 132, while efficiently andsecurely facilitating electronic transactions (e.g., make purchases orexchange or transfer funds).

In one embodiment, the processes and the methods described in FIG. 3 ,as well as the processes and the methods described hereafter may beexecuted by the systems 100, 200, and 300. The systems 100, 200, and 300may utilizes a software development kit (SDK) server (not shown) thatmay provide various SDK functions (or SDK) that the merchant system(s)120, distributed settlement system(s) 120, and the transaction processor130 may utilize to configure their systems to facilitate communicationwith between each other and execute the electronic transactions of thepresent disclosure. Further, the systems 100, 200, and 300 may utilizean application programming interface (API) server (not shown) that mayprovide various APIs that the merchant system(s) 110, the distributedsettlement system(s) 120, and the transaction processor 130 tofacilitate communication with between each other and execute theelectronic transactions of the present disclosure.

The methods described hereinafter, by utilizing the systems 100, 200,and 300 described above, solve the aforementioned technological problemsarising in the conventional electronic transaction technology. That is,the systems and methods of the present disclosure described herein aredirected to an improvement in the conventional electronic transactiontechnical field and are practically applicable in the field of executingelectronic transactions utilizing distributed settlement technology.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method 400 for executingvarious electronic transactions in accordance with of the presentdisclosure. Exemplary process flows of the method 400, performed inaccordance with the systems 100, 200, and 300 above, are describedhereinafter.

In one embodiment, at step 402, Merchant System A 304 may transmit arequest to exchange an x-amount of a first currency (e.g., 100 USD) intofirst currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., USD Exchange Tokens) to thedistributed settlement system(s) 120. At step 404, the distributedsettlement system(s) 120 may store or record the data associated withthe exchange request received from Merchant System A 304 in theblockchain 122 and transmit the exchange request to the exchangesystem(s) 132. At step 406, the exchange system(s) 132 may store orrecord the x-amount of the first currency (100 USD cash) in the database302 (e.g., record 100 USD cash in the escrow balance data 316) andtransmit the exchange request to the transaction system(s) 134 at step408. At step 410, the transaction system(s) 134 may confirm the receiptof the x-amount of the first currency and transmit the exchange requestto the tokenization system(s) 136. At step 412, the tokenizationsystem(s) 136 may generate, for example, an x-amount of the firstcurrency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 100 USD Exchange Tokens) in accordancewith the x-amount of the first currency and transmit the x-amount of thefirst currency Exchange Tokens to the transaction system(s) 134 and/orexchange system(s) 132.

At step 414, the exchange system(s) 132 may transmit or issue thex-amount of the first currency Exchange Tokens to the distributedsettlement system(s) 120. At step 416, the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 may store or record the transaction data associated withthe x-amount of the first currency Exchange Tokens and transmit thex-amount of the first currency Exchange Tokens to Merchant System A 304.At step 418, Merchant System A 304 may then store the x-amount of thefirst currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 100 USD tokens) into the database306 (e.g., into the account balance data 308) and reduce the totalamount (e.g., 250 USD) of the first currency in the account balance data308 by the x-amount of the first currency (e.g., 100 USD). Thus, in thisexemplary scenario, the account balance data 308 of Merchant System A304 may include 150 USD cash and 100 USD Exchange Tokens for Currency 1.Further, the escrow balance data 316 of the exchange system(s) mayinclude 100 USD cash for Currency 1.

In another embodiment, at step 420, Merchant System A 304 may request anexchange of y-amount of the first currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 50 USDExchange Tokens) to a second currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., KRWExchange Tokens). At step 422, the distributed settlement system(s) 120may store or record the exchange request data received from MerchantSystem A 304 in the blockchain 122 and transmit the exchange request tothe exchange system(s) 132. At step 424, the exchange system(s) 132 mayreduce the x-amount of the first currency (100 USD) by the y-amount ofthe first currency (50 USD). The exchange system(s) 132 may thentransmit the exchange request and the y-amount of the first currency (50USD) to the transaction system(s) 134. At step 426, the transactionsystem(s) 134 may confirm the receipt of the y-amount of the firstcurrency and transmit the exchange request to the tokenization system(s)136.

At step 428, the tokenization system(s) 136 may generate a z-amount ofsecond currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 50000 KRW Exchange Tokens) inaccordance with the y-amount of the first currency (e.g., 50 USD). Forexample, the z-amount of the second currency Exchange Tokens may varybased on the currency exchange rate between the first currency (e.g.,USD) and the second currency (e.g., KRW). The tokenization system(s) 136may then transmit the z-amount of the second currency Exchange Tokens(e.g., 5000 KRW Exchange Tokens) to the transaction system(s) 134 and/orexchange system(s) 132. At step 430, the exchange system(s) 132 mayupdate and store the z-amount of the second currency (e.g., 50000 KRWcash) into the escrow balance data 316 and transmit or issue thez-amount of the second currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 50000 KRWExchange Tokens) to the distributed settlement system(s) 120. At step432, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may store and record thetransaction data associated with the z-amount of the second currencyExchange Tokens and transmit the z-amount of the second currencyExchange Tokens to Merchant System A 304. At step 434, Merchant System A304 may then store the z-amount of the second currency Exchange Tokens(e.g., 50000 KRW Exchange Tokens) into the account balance data 308 andreduce the total amount of the first currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 100USD Exchange Tokens) in the account balance data 308 by the y-amount ofthe first currency Exchange Tokens (e.g., 50 USD Exchange Tokens). Thus,in this exemplary scenario, the account balance data 308 of MerchantSystem A 304 may include 150 USD cash and 50 USD Exchange Tokens forCurrency 1 and 50000 KRW Exchange Tokens for Currency 2. Further, theescrow balance data 316 of the exchange system(s) may include 50 USDcash for Currency 1 and 50000 KRW cash for Currency 2.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of another exemplary method 500 for executingvarious electronic transactions in accordance with of the presentdisclosure. Exemplary process flows of the method 500, performed inaccordance with the systems 100, 200, and 300 above, are describedhereinafter.

In one embodiment, at step 502, Merchant System A 304 may transmit arequest to make a payment or transfer funds (e.g., 10000 KRW ExchangeTokens) to Merchant System B 310, in accordance with Order No. 1 (e.g.,a purchase order, service agreement, etc.), to the distributedsettlement system(s) 120. Payments may contain a reference to an orderor an agreement that a party is paying for. This may prevent paymentbeing used for multiple orders or agreements. Separating the order oragreement and the payments into different chains may prevent commercialinformation from being leaked to other parties. An order may includepayment information, such as, payer, payee, amount owned, referencenumber, and/or amount paid. Further, an order or an agreement mayinclude information for making installment payments.

At step 504, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may store orrecord the payment request data in the blockchain 122 and transmit thepayment or funds (e.g., 10000 KRW Exchange Tokens) in accordance withOrder No. 1, via, for example, the exchange system(s) 132 and/or thetransaction system(s) 134, to Merchant System B 310. In someembodiments, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may facilitate thepayment or transfer of funds to other merchant systems directly. Forexample, when merchant systems make payments with the tokenized funds,the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may act as an intermediarybetween the merchants to directly execute the payment transactions. Atstep 506, Merchant System B 310 may receive the payment or funds (e.g.,10000 KRW Exchange Tokens) in accordance with Order No. 1 and transmit apayment confirmation message to the distributed settlement system(s)120. In one embodiment, Merchant System B 310 may store the payment orfunds (e.g., 10000 KRW Exchange Tokens) into the account balance data314. At step 508, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may updatethe transaction data associated with Order No. 1 in the blockchain 122in accordance with the completed payment transaction. At step 510,Merchant System A 304 may receive the payment confirmation and updatethe amount paid (e.g., 10000 KRW Exchange Tokens) for Order No. 1 in thedatabase 306. For example, the Merchant System A 304 may reduce thetotal amount of cash or exchange tokens in accordance with the amountpaid to Merchant System B 310 and update the account balance data 308.Thus, in this exemplary scenario, the account balance data 308 ofMerchant System A 304 may include 150 USD cash and 50 USD ExchangeTokens for Currency 1 and 40000 KRW Exchange Tokens for Currency 2.Further, the account balance data 314 of Merchant System B 310 mayinclude 10000 KRW Exchange Tokens for Currency 2. Furthermore, theescrow balance data 316 of the exchange system(s) may still remain as 50USD cash for Currency 1 and 50000 KRW cash for Currency 2.

In another embodiment, at step 520, Merchant System B 310 may transmit arequest to redeem an n-amount of the second currency Exchange Tokens(e.g., 5000 KRW Exchange Tokens) to the distributed settlement system(s)120. At step 522, the distributed settlement system(s) 120 may store orrecord the transaction data associated with the redemption request andtransmit the redemption request and the n-amount of the second currencyExchange Tokens (e.g., 5000 KRW Exchange Tokens) to the exchangesystem(s) 132. At step 524, the exchange system(s) 132 may transmit theredemption request and the second currency Exchange Tokens to thetransaction system(s) 134. At step 526, the transaction system(s) 134may confirm the payment of the n-amount of the second currency ExchangeTokens (e.g., 5000 KRW Exchange Tokens) and transmit n-amount of thesecond currency (e.g., 5000 KRW cash) in accordance with the requestedredemption amount. At step 528, the exchange system(s) 132 may updatethe second currency amount in the escrow balance data 316 and transmitthe n-amount of second currency to the distributed settlement system(s)120. At step 530, the distribute settlement system(s) 120 may store andrecord the transaction data associated with the redemption request byMerchant System B 310 and transmit the redemption confirmation and then-amount of second currency (e.g., 5000 KRW cash) to Merchant System B310. At step 532, Merchant System B 310 may receive the redemptionconfirmation and update the second currency amount in the accountbalance data 314. Thus, in this exemplary scenario, the account balancedata 314 of Merchant System B 310 may include 5000 KRW cash and 5000 KRWExchange Tokens for Currency 2. Further, the escrow balance data 316 ofthe exchange system(s) 132 may be updated to include 50 USD cash forCurrency 1 and 45000 KRW cash for Currency 2. Furthermore, the accountbalance data 308 of Merchant System A 304 may remain at 150 USD cash and50 USD Exchange Tokens for Currency 1 and 40000 KRW Exchange Tokens forCurrency 2.

In yet another embodiment, at step 540, Merchant System B 310 maytransmit a request to bankout an m-amount of the second currency (e.g.,2500 KRW cash) to the transaction system(s) 134. At step 542, thetransaction system(s) 134 may pay an external account (e.g., a bankaccount or other appropriate financial fund account) associated withMerchant System B 310 in the m-amount of the second currency (e.g., 2500KRW). At step 544, Merchant System B 310 may receive a bankoutconfirmation from the transaction system(s) 134 and may update thesecond currency amount in the database. Thus, in this exemplaryscenario, the account balance data 314 of Merchant System B 310 mayinclude 2500 KRW cash and 5000 KRW Exchange Tokens for Currency 2.Further, the escrow balance data 316 of the exchange system(s) 132 mayremain at 50 USD cash for Currency 1 and 45000 KRW cash for Currency 2.Furthermore, the account balance data 308 of Merchant System A 304 mayremain at 150 USD cash and 50 USD Exchange Tokens for Currency 1 and40000 KRW Exchange Tokens for Currency 2.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of another exemplary method 600 for executingelectronic transactions in accordance with the present disclosure. Oneexemplary process flow of the method 600, performed in accordance withthe systems 100, 200, and 300 above, is described hereinafter.

At step 602, the exchange system(s) 132 may receive, via the distributedsettlement system(s) 120, a first transaction request from a firstmerchant system (e.g., Merchant System A 304). The transaction requestmay include a first exchange request and/or a distributed settlementagreement. The first exchange request may comprise a request to exchangea first currency into one or more tokens in the first currency. In oneembodiment, the distributed settlement agreement may be between thefirst merchant system (e.g., Merchant System A 304) and one or moresecond merchant systems (e.g., Merchant System B 310, etc.). Thedistributed settlement agreement may be stored in a point-to-pointdistributed or shared ledger. Further, the distributed settlementsystem(s) 120 may update the distributed settlement agreement based onthe payment request. At step 604, the tokenization system(s) 136 maygenerate one or more tokens based on the first exchange request. At step606, the exchange system(s) 132 may store a transaction amount based onthe first exchange request of the first merchant system in an exchangedatabase (e.g., the escrow balance data 316 in the database 302). Atstep 608, the exchange system(s) 132 may transmit the one or more tokensto the first merchant system (e.g., Merchant System A 304). At step 610,the exchange system(s) 132 and/or the distributed settlement system(s)120 may transmit one or more tokens based on the first transactionrequest of Merchant System A 304 to the one or more second merchantsystem (e.g., Merchant System B 310, etc.). In one embodiment, theexchange system(s) 132 may receive a second exchange request from thefirst merchant system. The tokenization system(s) 134 may then generateone or more tokens based on the second exchange request. The secondexchange request may comprise a request to exchange the one or moretokens in the first currency into one or more tokens in a secondcurrency.

In addition to a standard desktop, or server, it is fully within thescope of this disclosure that any computer system capable of therequired storage and processing demands would be suitable for practicingthe embodiments of the present disclosure. This may include tabletdevices, smart phones, pin pad devices, and any other computer devices,whether mobile or even distributed on a network (i.e., cloud based).

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specificationdiscussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“calculating,” “determining”, analyzing” or the like, refer to theaction and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similarelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical, such as electronic, quantities into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities.

In a similar manner, the term “processor” may refer to any device orportion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registersand/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronicdata that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computer,”a “computing machine,” a “computing platform,” a “computing device,” ora “server” may include one or more processors.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system designated 700. The computer system700 can include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause thecomputer system 700 to perform any one or more of the methods orcomputer based functions disclosed herein. The computer system 700 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., using anetwork, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a landline telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularimplementation, the computer system 700 can be implemented usingelectronic devices that provide voice, video, or data communication.Further, while a single computer system 700 is illustrated, the term“system” shall also be taken to include any collection of systems orsub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiplesets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the computer system 700 may include aprocessor 702, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 702 may be a component ina variety of systems. For example, the processor 702 may be part of astandard personal computer or a workstation. The processor 702 may beone or more general processors, digital signal processors, applicationspecific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers,networks, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, orother now known or later developed devices for analyzing and processingdata. The processor 1002 may implement a software program, such as codegenerated manually (i.e., programmed).

The computer system 700 may include a memory 704 that can communicatevia a bus 708. The memory 704 may be a main memory, a static memory, ora dynamic memory. The memory 704 may include, but is not limited tocomputer readable storage media such as various types of volatile andnon-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random accessmemory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electricallyprogrammable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory,flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In oneimplementation, the memory 704 includes a cache or random-access memoryfor the processor 702. In alternative implementations, the memory 704 isseparate from the processor 702, such as a cache memory of a processor,the system memory, or other memory. The memory 704 may be an externalstorage device or database for storing data. Examples include a harddrive, compact disc (“CD”), digital video disc (“DVD”), memory card,memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus (“USB”) memory device,or any other device operative to store data. The memory 704 is operableto store instructions executable by the processor 702. The functions,acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described herein may beperformed by the programmed processor 702 executing the instructionsstored in the memory 704. The functions, acts or tasks are independentof the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor orprocessing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware,integrated circuits, firm-ware, micro-code and the like, operating aloneor in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may includemultiprocessing, multitasking, parallel payment and the like.

As shown, the computer system 700 may further include a display unit710, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid-state display, a cathode raytube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later developeddisplay device for outputting determined information. The display 710may act as an interface for the user to see the functioning of theprocessor 702, or specifically as an interface with the software storedin the memory 704 or in the drive unit 706.

Additionally or alternatively, the computer system 700 may include aninput device 712 configured to allow a user to interact with any of thecomponents of system 700. The input device 712 may be a number pad, akeyboard, or a cursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick,touch screen display, remote control, or any other device operative tointeract with the computer system 700.

The computer system 700 may also or alternatively include a disk oroptical drive unit 706. The disk drive unit 706 may include acomputer-readable medium 722 in which one or more sets of instructions724, e.g., software, can be embedded. Further, the instructions 724 mayembody one or more of the methods or logic as described herein. Theinstructions 724 may reside completely or partially within the memory704 and/or within the processor 702 during execution by the computersystem 700. The memory 704 and the processor 702 also may includecomputer-readable media as discussed above.

In some systems, a computer-readable medium 722 includes instructions724 or receives and executes instructions 724 responsive to a propagatedsignal so that a device connected to a network 770 can communicatevoice, video, audio, images, or any other data over the network 770.Further, the instructions 724 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 770 via a communication port or interface 720, and/or using abus 708. The communication port or interface 720 may be a part of theprocessor 702 or may be a separate component. The communication port 720may be created in software or may be a physical connection in hardware.The communication port 720 may be configured to connect with a network770, external media, the display 710, or any other components in system700, or combinations thereof. The connection with the network 770 may bea physical connection, such as a wired Ethernet connection or may beestablished wirelessly as discussed below. Likewise, the additionalconnections with other components of the system 700 may be physicalconnections or may be established wirelessly. The network 770 mayalternatively be directly connected to the bus 708.

While the computer-readable medium 722 is shown to be a single medium,the term “computer-readable medium” may include a single medium ormultiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable medium” may also include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set ofinstructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computersystem to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosedherein. The computer-readable medium 722 may be non-transitory, and maybe tangible.

The computer-readable medium 722 can include a solid-state memory suchas a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. The computer-readable medium 722 can be arandom-access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionallyor alternatively, the computer-readable medium 722 can include amagneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or otherstorage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signalcommunicated over a transmission medium. A digital file attachment to ane-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archivesmay be considered a distribution medium that is a tangible storagemedium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one ormore of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and otherequivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may bestored.

In an alternative implementation, dedicated hardware implementations,such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logicarrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement oneor more of the methods described herein. Applications that may includethe apparatus and systems of various implementations can broadly includea variety of electronic and computer systems. One or moreimplementations described herein may implement functions using two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals that can be communicated between and throughthe modules, or as portions of an application-specific integratedcircuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware,and hardware implementations.

The computer system 700 may be connected to one or more networks 770.The network 770 may define one or more networks including wired orwireless networks. The wireless network may be a cellular telephonenetwork, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, or WiMAX network. Further, suchnetworks may include a public network, such as the Internet, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize avariety of networking protocols now available or later developedincluding, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols. Thenetwork 770 may include wide area networks (WAN), such as the Internet,local area networks (LAN), campus area networks, metropolitan areanetworks, a direct connection such as through a Universal Serial Bus(USB) port, or any other networks that may allow for data communication.The network 770 may be configured to couple one computing device toanother computing device to enable communication of data between thedevices. The network 770 may generally be enabled to employ any form ofmachine-readable media for communicating information from one device toanother. The network 770 may include communication methods by whichinformation may travel between computing devices. The network 770 may bedivided into sub-networks. The sub-networks may allow access to all ofthe other components connected thereto or the sub-networks may restrictaccess between the components. The network 770 may be regarded as apublic or private network connection and may include, for example, avirtual private network or an encryption or other security mechanismemployed over the public Internet, or the like.

In accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure,the methods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedimplementation, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel payment.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular implementations with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited tosuch standards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet andother packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML,HTTP, etc.) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standardsare periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalentshaving essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacementstandards and protocols having the same or similar functions as thosedisclosed herein are considered equivalents thereof.

It will be understood that the steps of methods discussed are performedin one embodiment by an appropriate processor (or processors) of aprocessing (i.e., computer) system executing instructions(computer-readable code) stored in storage. It will also be understoodthat the disclosed embodiments are not limited to any particularimplementation or programming technique and that the disclosedembodiments may be implemented using any appropriate techniques forimplementing the functionality described herein. The disclosedembodiments are not limited to any particular programming language oroperating system.

It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplaryembodiments, various features of the embodiments are sometimes groupedtogether in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understandingof one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method ofdisclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intentionthat a claimed embodiment requires more features than are expresslyrecited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoingdisclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the DetailedDescription are hereby expressly incorporated into this DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some butnot other features included in other embodiments, combinations offeatures of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and form different embodiments, as would beunderstood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the followingclaims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

Furthermore, some of the embodiments are described herein as a method orcombination of elements of a method that can be implemented by aprocessor of a computer system or by other means of carrying out thefunction. Thus, a processor with the necessary instructions for carryingout such a method or element of a method forms a means for carrying outthe method or element of a method. Furthermore, an element describedherein of an apparatus embodiment is an example of a means for carryingout the function performed by the element for the purpose of carryingout the function.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are setforth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not beenshown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of thisdescription.

Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term coupled, when used in theclaims, should not be interpreted as being limited to direct connectionsonly. The terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives,may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intendedas synonyms for each other. Thus, the scope of the expression a device Acoupled to a device B should not be limited to devices or systemswherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input ofdevice B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A andan input of B which may be a path including other devices or means.“Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are either in directphysical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact witheach other.

Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be thepreferred embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in theart will recognize that other and further modifications may be madethereto without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, andit is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the present disclosure. For example, any formulasgiven above are merely representative of procedures that may be used.Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams andoperations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may beadded or deleted to methods described within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other implementations, which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to themaximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is tobe determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of thefollowing claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted orlimited by the foregoing detailed description. While variousimplementations of the disclosure have been described, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreimplementations and implementations are possible within the scope of thedisclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be restricted exceptin light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A computer-implemented method for executing adistributed electronic transaction, comprising: receiving, via one ormore processors, a first transaction request from a merchant system,wherein the first transaction request includes an exchange request toconvert a first currency into one or more first tokens; storing, via theone or more processors, a first transaction amount based on the firsttransaction request in a database; generating, via the one or moreprocessors, the one or more first tokens based on the first transactionrequest; and transmitting, via the one or more processors, the one ormore first tokens to the merchant system for transaction settlement,wherein the first transaction request includes a distributed settlementagreement between a plurality of merchants of the merchant system. 22.The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the distributedsettlement agreement is stored in a point-to-point distributed or sharedledger.
 23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, whereintransaction data between a first merchant and a second merchant of theplurality of merchants is verified, provided a unique hash, and storedin a block of the point-to-point distributed or shared ledger, andwherein the stored transaction data is immutable.
 24. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the one or more firsttokens includes at least one of low-value tokens, high-value tokens,randomly generated numbers, pseudorandom numbers, an encryptedinformation, or character sequences.
 25. The computer-implemented methodof claim 23, wherein generating the one or more first tokens, furthercomprises: determining, via the one or more processors, a receipt of thefirst transaction amount for the first transaction request; andgenerating, via the one or more processors, the one or more first tokensequivalent to the first transaction amount.
 26. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 25, further comprising: receiving, via the one or moreprocessors, a second transaction request from the merchant system,wherein the second transaction request includes a request for exchangingthe one or more first tokens for the first currency into one or moresecond tokens in a second currency; updating, via the one or moreprocessors, the stored first transaction amount based on the secondtransaction request; determining, via the one or more processors, areceipt of a second transaction amount for the second transactionrequest; and generating, via the one or more processors, the one or moresecond tokens in the second currency equivalent to the secondtransaction amount.
 27. The computer-implemented method of claim 26,wherein the first transaction request and the second transaction requestare between the first merchant and the second merchant, and wherein thefirst transaction request and the second transaction request areanonymous to other merchants of the merchant system.
 28. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 26, further comprising: updating,via the processor, the distributed settlement agreement based on thefirst transaction request and the second transaction request.
 29. Asystem for executing a distributed electronic transaction, comprising:one or more computer readable media storing instructions for executing adistributed electronic transaction; and one or more processorsconfigured to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising:receiving a first transaction request from a merchant system, whereinthe first transaction request includes an exchange request to convert afirst currency into one or more first tokens; storing a firsttransaction amount based on the first transaction request in a database;generating the one or more first tokens based on the first transactionrequest; and transmitting the one or more first tokens to the merchantsystem for transaction settlement, wherein the first transaction requestincludes a distributed settlement agreement between a plurality ofmerchants of the merchant system.
 30. The system of claim 29, whereinthe distributed settlement agreement is stored in a point-to-pointdistributed or shared ledger.
 31. The system of claim 30, whereintransaction data between a first merchant and a second merchant of theplurality of merchants is verified, provided a unique hash, and storedin a block of the point-to-point distributed or shared ledger, andwherein the stored transaction data is immutable.
 32. The system ofclaim 29, wherein the one or more first tokens includes at least one oflow-value tokens, high-value tokens, randomly generated numbers,pseudorandom numbers, an encrypted information, or character sequences.33. The system of claim 31, wherein generating the one or more firsttokens, further comprises: determining a receipt of the firsttransaction amount for the first transaction request; and generating theone or more first tokens equivalent to the first transaction amount. 34.The system of claim 33, the operations further comprising: receiving asecond transaction request from the merchant system, wherein the secondtransaction request includes a request for exchanging the one or morefirst tokens for the first currency into one or more second tokens in asecond currency; updating the stored first transaction amount based onthe second transaction request; determining a receipt of a secondtransaction amount for the second transaction request; and generatingthe one or more second tokens in the second currency equivalent to thesecond transaction amount.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the firsttransaction request and the second transaction request are between thefirst merchant and the second merchant, and wherein the firsttransaction request and the second transaction request are anonymous toother merchants of the merchant system.
 36. The system of claim 34,further comprising: updating the distributed settlement agreement basedon the first transaction request and the second transaction request. 37.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions forexecuting a distributed electronic transaction, the instructions, whenexecuted by one or more processors, causing the one or more processorsto perform operations comprising: receiving a first transaction requestfrom a merchant system, wherein the first transaction request includesan exchange request to convert a first currency into one or more firsttokens; storing a first transaction amount based on the firsttransaction request in a database; generating the one or more firsttokens based on the first transaction request; and transmitting the oneor more first tokens to the merchant system for transaction settlement,wherein the first transaction request includes a distributed settlementagreement between a plurality of merchants of the merchant system. 38.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein thedistributed settlement agreement is stored in a point-to-pointdistributed or shared ledger, and wherein the one or more first tokensincludes at least one of low-value tokens, high-value tokens, randomlygenerated numbers, pseudorandom numbers, an encrypted information, orcharacter sequences.
 39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 38, wherein transaction data between a first merchant and a secondmerchant of the plurality of merchants is verified, provided a uniquehash, and stored in a block of the point-to-point distributed or sharedledger, and wherein the stored transaction data is immutable.
 40. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, further comprising:determining a receipt of the first transaction amount for the firsttransaction request; generating the one or more first tokens equivalentto the first transaction amount; receiving a second transaction requestfrom the merchant system, wherein the second transaction requestincludes a request for exchanging the one or more first tokens for thefirst currency into one or more second tokens in a second currency;updating the stored first transaction amount based on the secondtransaction request; determining a receipt of a second transactionamount for the second transaction request; and generating the one ormore second tokens in the second currency equivalent to the secondtransaction amount.